Last night I got lucky to be one of the invited "RIGHT NOW" to join a live tele-townhall meeting that Congresswoman Bean was holding. First of all, it was now or never. Secondly, when I joined in the telephone town hall, it was already in progress and missed the beginning of the townhall meeting. I don't know what the format was going to be, all I know is that the automated voice told me that Congresswoman Bean was interested in hearing from her constituents.
Let me tell you what happened next. I sat on the phone, listening to Melissa Bean talk about her votes against earmarks, cutting out earmarks, and how we would have to make some difficult choices with entitlement spending coming up. She went on to say that cutting entitlement spending is not a popular stance, but it must be considered.
OK. I almost fell over from laughter. How could Congresswoman Bean, with a serious tone in her voice (I couldn't see her face as she doesn't hold townhall meetings open to the public in her district), actually pretend to tell her constituents that some tough choices must be made ahead? And that she is taking a strong stance against entitelment spending?
I don't know whether to be more insulted or more afraid for our district as well as the country. Does Congresswoman Bean think we have been hiding under a rock for the last year and a half? She voted for the so-called stimulus bill, Cap and Trade, bank bailouts, and healthcare. She voted against the wishes of her constituents and the majority of the citizens around the country.
I'm afraid for our district and our country because Congresswoman Bean puts party politics ahead of her constituents. I'm afraid for our country because the policies that Congresswoman Bean has voted to make into law are WRONG for our district, WRONG for our country, and WRONG for us.
Is it that party politics are a priority over her constituents, or is that she truly doesn't understand what she has voted for? I'm not talking about the bills themselves, we all know Congress didn't read them before voting on them. I'm talking about the big picture - the policy implications on our district and on our country.
Whether Congresswoman Bean is insulting each and every one of us or she just plain doesn't understand the implications of her votes, is she the person you want representing YOU in Congress?